Hiking in New Jersey

We have been hiking with the Hiking Club in our community.  Two weeks ago we went to Washington's Crossing State Park.  Last week it was the Columbia Trail and Ken Lockwood Gorge near High Bridge.  Today was a great day with temperatures in the mid 60's.  We hiked about three miles in Hacklebarney State Park.

A New Jersey Paddle

We brought the boats from camp because we intend to take them to Florida with us this winter.  So despite the cloudy skies we decided to take advantage of having them in NJ and drove to Island Beach State Park to paddle among the sedge islands in Barnegat Bay.  It sure looks different from the Adirondacks.


We saw lots of birds - gulls, great egrets, great blue herons, kingfishers, one snowy egret, one tri-colored heron, and lots of cormorants.


After the paddle we walked on the beach for a while, seeing lots of gulls and several oystercatchers.

Paddles for 2018

Bog River
Cranberry Lake
Deer River Flow
Follensby Clear
Forked Lake
Indian Lake
Lake Flower toward Oseetah
Lake Lila
Lower St Regis, Spitfire, Upper St Regis
Middle Saranac and Weller
Newcomb Lake
Oswegatchie River
Piercefield Flow
Raquette River from camp to Raquette Pond
Raquette River to falls
Rollins/ Floodwood loop
Round Lake
Saranac River
Second Pond and Cold Brook
Tupper Lake from Moody

Final Paddle of the Season

Yesterday we participated in our group's traditional Columbus Day paddle and picnic for the first time in years.  And the weather was such that it might be the last time for several more.  We put in on the Bog River at Lows Lower Dam in drizzly weather.  It was raining harder by the time we got to the take out point on Hitchins Pond but it eased up as we were eating.  We left soon after eating because we intended to pack the car in the afternoon, ready to head for NJ first thing today.  But it really poured while we were paddling back to the car.  So instead of packing the car, we started a fire in the wood stove and spread out our kayaking gear to dry so we could pack it.  We brought our kayaks and gear back to NJ with us, because we want to take them to Florida with us in January.  But we still got a good start this morning and had an uneventful trip home to NJ this afternoon.

Climbing Coney Mountain

The sun finally came out today so we climbed Coney Mountain to get a beautiful view of the fall leaves.  It seems to be the height of the color.

Leaf Peeping

My brother and sister-in-law are visiting and we have been hoping to show them the fall colors.  The colors are beautiful - the first week of October is definitely peak - but the weather has been lousy with rain and clouds every day.  Today was supposed to be the best day, so we headed east towards the high peaks.  We had hoped to hike to the viewpoint at Cobble Ridge and to go up Whiteface to get the great views, but the clouds were so low we were driving in them by the time we got to Wilmington.  So we hiked down along the flume of the West Branch of the Ausable River.  With all the rain we have had recently, there was plenty of water.






And stopped along the road to get some views of the leaves.

Santanoni and Newcomb Lake

Today's paddle was unique in that it started with a wagon ride.


All the boats were loaded onto one wagon, the people into another, and the horses took us the five miles into great camp Santanoni on the shore of Newcomb Lake.  It was originally built in 1892-3 by Robert Pruyn, a prominent Albany banker and businessman.  It is now part of the forest preserve.

We paddled about 5 miles around the lake then had a bit of time to walk around the property before having to head back on the wagons.


The many buildings are linked by many porches.


After the adventure some of us stopped for dinner at the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake.

Paddling/Walking Rollins, Floodwood, Fish Creek, Square Pond

We did one of our favorite paddles today.  We drove to Rollins Pond to put the boats in.  It was another beautiful, calm day, though with temps in the low 80's it was hotter than we would like.


We saw several loons.


When we reached the end of Rollins, the walking portion began.  The water was too low to make it through the stream into Floodwood in the boats.  But given the temperature, it was great to have an excuse to get out and wade.


Then on through Floodwood, down Fish Creek and Fish Creek Ponds, and through Square Pond to an empty campsite where we took the boats out after a paddle of about 8 miles.  We then walked half an hour back to Rollins to get the car and drove back to retrieve the boats.

Paddling Lake Lila

We had a beautiful paddle today.  It was such gorgeous weather, with bright blue skies and no wind, it was even worth the awful drive and the long carry to get to the Lake Lila put in.  The drive was as bad as we remembered - one half hour on a potholed, rocky road.  The carry wasn't too bad, especially when you take one boat at a time.  The reflections on the smooth water were great.

Paddling the 90-Miler

Well, not exactly.  We put our boats in at the home of friends along the route near the end of the race and paddled for a while and watched the racers.  There was an incredible variety as usual.  Then we went back to our friends' home for a nice visit.